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lughnasadh OP t1_iyze7ji wrote

Submission Statement

At the pace that the AI behind this is developing, I wonder where the next order of magnitude increase in capabilities will take us? Then what will the robot an order of magnitude more capable of it be like? It seems conceivable that robots capable of doing most unskilled work will exist by the end of the decade.

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f10101 t1_iyzh7v7 wrote

I wonder if there is a significant difference between unskilled and skilled work once the threshold of versatility to do "most unskilled work" is met.

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mgsantos t1_iyzpr7f wrote

The idea of an unskilled worker is usually a misunderstanding by white collar managers of other types of skills that are not sitting on a computer doing math or writing reports.

Think about the least skilled job you can think of. A coffee shop cashier, for example, who is only there to type in simple orders into a computer. Now consider if this is really the only job of a cashier.

My business survives because our cashier is excellent at both attracting and keeping customers. Cross selling and raising the value of purchases. Can I automate her job with an iPad? Sure. Would it generate value for my company? No way.

So I tend to be a little sceptical about these "automate unskilled jobs" from reports written by people who never held an unskilled job or worked with "unskilled people".

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artbytwade t1_iz034gf wrote

I agree. We're already seeing things that augment systems for humans thus reducing head count. Things like 'self checkout' are a perversion of this, but robots are helpful at quick prep restaurants, as parking attendants, etc. Software has been rooted into even meal prep for 3-4 decades. It on average increases productivity over time.

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stadchic t1_iyzkofw wrote

The difference is likely money & productivity. Many more things can already be automated than are, because maintenance costs more than minimum wage of organic labor to complete the same job.

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